Essay on Teenage Pregnancy – Problem, Cause and Effect

Free 790 words essay on Teenage Pregnancy ( Facts, Risks and complications, Disadvantages, Serious Problem, Cause and Effect) for school and college students.

Pregnancy that occurs in women below 20 years of age is considered to be teenage pregnancy. Although menarche generally begins at the age of 12 or 13, teenage pregnancy is replete with multiple complications. Problems range from being both socio-economic to biological. Girls who undergo teenage pregnancy carry high risk of low birth weight, anaemia, premature labor, among other things. Since education at this level is not adequate and girls are encircled in poverty and malnutrition, risk factors get inflated. This phenomenon is not restricted too less developed or poor nations, rather advanced economies like the US are also facing the brunt of it. Given the long-term impacts and concerns, society as well as government needs to come forward to resolve contentious issues like this.

Even the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) admits that teenage pregnancies are associated with life-threatening consequences, has high-development costs for the respective community and contributes to the vicious cycle of poverty. It severely effects their educational, economic and social opportunities imposing negative medical and psychological effects. Gender-inequality, coercion, and suppression comes alongside. Social costs often supersede the economic costs.

The first disadvantage of teenage pregnancy is the stifling of education, that slips last on the priority rung. Teen mothers most likely drop out of school. They complete their secondary education in lesser rate as compared to others. This young motherhood affects employment and social class in industrialized countries. They often turn to government for assistance of parenthood. Most of these girls are impoverished at the time of giving birth. An independent survey found that 89% of them were unemployed while inly 11% received salaries. Teenage women living in this abject poverty often attempt to commit suicide, seven times likelier than normal teenagers. Their socio-economic profiles get terribly affected.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reports that nearly 45% of all pregnancies reported by women in the United States were unplanned. The US spends more than $10 billion on teen childbearing. It is rarely propagated and realized that such early pregnancy affects the psychosocial development of the infant. Premature birth and low-birth weight are the most common complaints with greater risk of intellectual, language, and socio-emotional delays. Children of teenage mothers reportedly have poor academic performance. Some surveys have even found startling revelations that daughters of teenage mothers are most likely to be pregnant in their own teenage, and sons are three times more likely to be jailed than normal ones. Since teenage mothers receive less pre-natal care, they develop complications and health-risks. They are also at risk of nutritional deficiencies due to regular habits of diet, weight loss measures, snacking, fast-food consumption, etc. In fact, girls below the age of 15 face serious problems during childbirth due to underdevelopment of pelvis. Labor pain is often obstructed and they have to undergo Caesarean section for delivery. They can even suffer from eclampsia, obstetric fistula, infant mortality, or maternal death.

In regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, teenage pregnancy is welcomed as it is considered a gift of fertility. Traditional rural communities in India undergo early marriage which is involuntarily associated with early pregnancies. Parents do not take cognizance of their children’s sexuality as a result of which unprotected sex leads to conception in young girls. Lack of adequate medical care is also a common phenomenon. As there is less emphasis on education and employment, this vicious cycle continues. Increased sexual activity among adolescents has led to proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases. Alcohol and substance abuse is another menace. Alcohol, cannabis, “ecstasy” and other substituted amphetamines are evidently associated with teenage pregnancy risks.

Lack of contraception among teenagers who get involved in sexually activity out of pressure or coercion is notable. They’re often too embarrassed or scared to seek such information. These prejudices are often difficult to overcome by ones who have unprotected sex. Some studies in South Africa claim that 11-20% of teenage pregnancy cases arise out of sexual abuse in women, that is direct result of rape. Most countries have criminalized sexual intercourse with minors given their lack of understanding and competence, however, molestation and rapes occur even under law enforcement. Women from poor nations often have to face abuse and domestic violence, and their risk of getting pregnant is always high.

The menace of teenage pregnancy can be solved through both institutional as well as community support. Children need comprehensive sex education lessons, that can be either included in their curriculum or through external classes. These messages have to be targeted at not just teenage girls but also boys, who need similar sensitization. Community involvement is a prerequisite to eradication of any social evil. Condoms or other protection mechanism have to be made locally available. Since teenagers lack the level of maturity and cognizance, adequate mentoring and counselling must be made ubiquitous shedding all biases.